Rage, Rage at the Wasting of the Light
By any measure, ethical, moral, or religious, a human life has worth. And while the loss of life is horrible, we waste hours of that life way too easily.
The problem isn’t that that this waste happens. The problem is it happens at work, a constructed environment that we can change, if we wanted to.
At its simplest, work is where we trade hours of life for money. Part of that trade is accepting “the way things are”.
Maybe you’re a little miffed when you spend two hours on a conference call. Well, we do conference calls here, that’s “the way things are”. Maybe you had to wait for a committee to meet before you can finish a project. Or you had to send two emails for something that could have been handled with a phone call. Whatever it is, you get used to it. You accept “the way things are”.
It doesn’t make sense to raise a ruckus about it. Besides, being emotional at work is unprofessional, right?
Except these days that’s a recipe for failure.
Time and time again, we see the people who fought to preserve “the way things are” left behind by the ones who cared about “the way things should be”. The people who fought for change didn’t always do it because it was logical. A lot of times it was because the current state of affairs was unacceptable.
That’s why I think it’s time to get a little angry at work. I’d caution against kicking down doors and flipping tables. After all, a business depends on logical decisions. It’s just that, over time, those once logical decisions are now illogical.
So start with your logical side. The part of you that weighs and measures. The part of you that evaluates the cost and benefit of a choice. Sometimes, just a clear vision will help other people see what you see. If they still push back, arguing that change is hard, then add in your emotions.
Get outraged that Helen couldn’t pick up her kids because she had to stay late to fix something. That Jeff had to eat lunch at his desk because another department is wasting time. Explain that Eileen, who has a Master’s degree in graphic art, has to use Powerpoint because the department doesn’t want to buy anything else. Get insulted at the very idea that we can’t be better, smarter, faster. Get furious at the fact that your company doesn’t let everyone be the best version of themselves.
Then, and only then, you can flip the table when someone suggests a two hour conference call that could be replaced by a single email.
Just remember to lift with your knees, not with your back.
